Murkage Dave // Live Review

After spending the start of the year touring with Mike Skinner and The Streets, Murkage Dave returned to headline his home city and stole the stage at Omeara, London.

Having spent the best part of two months warming up crowds for Hip-Hop legends, The Streets, Murkage Dave is by no means a warm-up act. At Omeara London on 21st February, he delivered a solid performance to an excited and engaged crowd.

With his debut album only arriving last year, the set was special. He worked his way through his new tracks with comfort and passion and it became increasingly obvious why he earned his place as support for The Streets. The lyrics are expressive and honest, much like that of Skinner’s as he gets reflective about life: “I asked you to leave me alone, now I’m lonely”.

During the opening few tracks, it was clear that there were some nerves in the air, which wasn’t helped by sound problems. But this didn’t deter the rapper, who pushed through the tough start to put on a show beyond expectations.

Tickets for his tour sold out in minutes when they were released and so much was the demand that his team moved his London show to a bigger venue. Fans were packed into the London Bridge venue and singing along to every word.

The melodies of ‘Put You On My Shoulders’ and ‘You Always Ring Me When I’m Busy’ are chilled and especially easy to sit back and kick off the night. Murkage Dave is soulful, talented and has a genuinely nice voice.

He quickly felt at home on stage and it was clear that’s where he was meant to be. The early nerves were gone after Jaykae came on to perform ‘Every Country.’ After a melodic opening that had the crowd swaying, it was time for the upbeat bit of his set.

The crowd were jumping around to the garage beats, with Murkage showcasing his wide range throughout. Garage beats are clearly where he feels most at home and the crowd loved every minute of it.

It was clear that he had learned a great deal from The Streets and Mike Skinner. Despite a few hiccups, Murkage Dave’s first solo show was a hit and he has started 2019 off with a bang.